By Design Interiors' Blog

Everything listed under: By Design Interiors

It's been quite the week for Houstonians, our beloved baseball team Astros just won the MLB World Series against Los Angeles Dodgers, Hooray! To celebrate this happy occasion, we want to share a very fun and cheery design project that was recently completed by our super talented designer Erika. This home has some interesting details throughout. While you look at the photos, don't forget to focus on the little things that makes the room come alive.

In this week's blog we will continue our tour of this sophisticated and 'high fashion' remodel in The Woodlands, TX! This spectacular home was designed by one of our amazing designers, Erika Barczak, and remodeled by Keechi Creek Builders! In this blog, we will focus on four exquisite bedrooms!

Every Tuesday morning we look forward to our vendor breakfast meetings! These meetings provide us with an inside look at the very latest and greatest products including fabrics, furniture, tile, rugs, accessories, and the list goes on! We also focus on keeping our training as up to date as possible, as there are always new innovations and new designs in the field of interior design!

It is amazing to see how far Sunbrella fabrics have come since their introduction to the market in 1961. Over ten years ago Sunbrella branched out from their outdoor "canvas look" to the beautiful world of luxury interior and exterior fabrics and they have been impressing us ever since!

Lamps can provide the ambient lighting that we all love, but as designers, we think lamps can do so much more! They can add texture, pattern, whimsy, sparkle or an organic element into the space! They can be like a sculptural piece of art, because when you think about it, most of the day they go unlit, so why not incorporate them into the design!We will explore some fabulous lamps in the upcoming weeks!

This week we will continue to look at neutrals in a whole new way! Great design can elicit a variety of feelings. The exciting thing about neutrals is that you can create different moods depending on the warmth or coolness of the "colorless colors" you bring into a room!

Neutrals are making a comeback as people are taking a break from bold, bright colors. Beige has been given a bad rap as boring and safe but we can show you how to revamp colorless design in fresh, new ways! We can create stunning looks with neutrals by layering materials, playing with textures and adding shapes to a space!

Every High Point Market we visit one of our favorite showrooms, Century Furniture, and always leave feeling so excited about their new product! In this video, Tim Hall explains the Century Cornerstone program which has so many fantastic options! With a fabulous selection of fabrics at our studio, we can help you design the custom sofa of your dreams!

We had a great 2015 at By Design Interiors and we look forward to making your dreams come true in 2016! We wanted to thank all of our clients and vendors and wish everyone a very Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and a blessed 2016!

​If you live in the south, you have waited for this weather all year long; temperatures in the 70's, no mosquitos and a chance to enjoy the outdoors without having to be immersed in water! Outdoor living areas have become more popular than ever as manufacturers are designing more durable products and designers are space planning beautiful designs for the outdoors from the very beginning of the home building process.

With Christmas right around the corner, it is down to crunch time! Maybe you have had all the decorations out and set up the day after Thanksgiving? Maybe you haven't started yet?! Somewhere in the middle of it?! If decorating causes you more stress than cheer, why not consider hiring one of our talented interior designers next year?

There is an exciting trend in the design world as the lines begin to blur between indoor and outdoor living!Outdoor furniture is the fastest growing market in the furniture industry, with new variations that include more durable frames, wicker resins, recycled materials and stain resistant designer fabrics!

Thanksgiving is a time for being thankful for our blessings, eating too much food and being with the ones we love. Often times as the hosts, we focus so much on the food preparation, that table decorations can become an afterthought! These quick and easy inspirations can make a gorgeous setting for all that delicious food and set just the right ambiance!

We found so many amazing chair backs at High Point Market that we decided to continue the blog this week! The attention to detail on all sides of a piece of furniture takes it from ordinary to extraordinary!

As designers, we really appreciate when a great deal of thought is put into designing a piece of furniture. It has to look good from all angles! When a chair has that extra attention to detail it really stands out!

As the weather cools and the leaves change colors (or if you live in Houston, the pine needles fall) we are drawn to cozier fabrics, and nothing says fall like plaid! This traditional pattern is transitioning straight from the runways into home décor!

We
are back from High Point Market and eager to share the latest and greatest!
Channel style quilted furniture certainly caught our eye this October! It is a blend of
modern, clean lines but a little puffy and inviting at the same time!

For our third and final segment
on our icebreakers series, we will focus on unique art that is a real
conversation starter! While we love paintings and photographs, we are going to
focus on three dimensional art that will really make your walls feel alive and
get noticed!

Typically, lighting is one of the last things to be
considered on a remodel or new home. We think it is time to move it up on the
list of priorities! With all the fantastic lighting options, you can not only
brighten up your space but you can also bring in elements of your personality!
These creative lighting fixtures push the envelope and make a statement!

Have you ever walked into a room and an eye catching object
grabs your attention straight away and immediately makes you want to talk about
it? These conversation starter pieces are a creative way to say something about
your personality and passions. In a three part series, we will show you some
novel furniture, accessories, lighting and art that will make you do a double
take!

Throughout history, the chair has symbolized different
periods of history like no other piece of furniture. The chair has been witness
to an ever changing evolution of interiors; from Ancient Greece, to Medieval times to
Mid-Century. Chairs pose a design challenge because they need to combine form,
function and be aesthetically beautiful!

This month's "Spotlight on Design" features another one of our talented and creative designers, Ashton Morgan, and a sampling of her beautiful designs! In her own words, Ashton will invite you to revisit the world of wall coverings and the gorgeous, modern selections available to you! If walls could talk… they would say they need attention too!

Just what is it about velvet that makes it so
appealing?! Maybe it’s the rich colors,
the luxurious feel, the sumptuous look, or all of the above and then some! Velvet
has been around for thousands of years but its allure has not faded!

One of the best ways to visually expand a space is to add a
mirror! Mirrors can add depth and dimension to a space as well as adding
brightness and luminosity. With the correct placement of mirrors, you can
reflect and emphasize a gorgeous design!

Whether it is in your kitchen, master bathroom, bar or
powder bathroom; backsplashes can infuse personality into a space! Backsplashes
can be a stunning focal point in a room by adding color, texture or dimension
to a room! As designers, we consider the backsplash to be an exciting design
element where we have the opportunity to combine materials to create a custom
design like no other!

This
month’s “Spotlight on Design” features another one of our truly talented
designers and her gorgeous "Modern Elegance" project !
Mary Blair will take you through the intricate thought process behind her
design, the detailed process itself and the fantastic end results!

By Design Interiors had the amazing opportunity to tour the
Teracea Factory in Mexico this past week! It was truly incredible to see up
close and in person the amount of beautiful handcrafted detail and thoughtful
care each step of the process is given! Teracea prides itself on being a unique
and different high end furniture line by using unusual recovered lumber,
reclaimed woods and by using an artisan system to produce each piece.

Powder baths can be transformed into the ultimate accessory
rooms, like the jewelry box of a home! These half bathrooms are so much fun to
design because you can really let your creativity flow freely and take some
risks. Because of their small size, you
can try intense colors, unusual materials or use dramatic features without fear!

We
love luminous, sparkling things like crystal and glass, but acrylic has the added
benefit of not breaking, chipping or shattering! Although
acrylic furniture gives a space a weightless, light and airy feel, it is
actually quite strong and heavy!

Once again, interior design is following
the runway fashions and birds, feathers and flocks are turning up in
accessories, art and even furniture! Designers are putting a modern twist on
these longtime favorite subjects with glamorous golden tones and creative
arrangements!

In this week’s blog we will continue to explore how the
economic upswing is positively affecting the interior design world! Interior
designers and furniture designers are combining modern glamour with classic
sophistication to give us luxurious looks! The great thing about these bold and
bright metal accents and exquisite material choices is that they coordinate
effortlessly with modern, transitional and traditional design aesthetics!

One way to add personality and whimsy to a room is to
incorporate animals! In years past we saw a lot of owls and foxes but this year
elephants and fish are popping up in designs everywhere! Using animals in your
interior design can help define the overall feel of the space.

A growing trend in the
interior design world is the inclusion of opposites in a space. Combining a traditional furniture piece with
modern art, mixing smooth surfaces with textured surfaces or using light and dark elements make a
space visually interesting and appealing. We found the classic opposite color palette of black and
white on everything from furniture to textiles to accessories at High Point
Market this spring!

When you think about adding pattern into a room, the use of
fabrics and wallpaper may come to mind first.
As we saw last week, designers are finding unique and creative ways to
incorporate pattern into furniture, accessories and even lighting! Pattern is
an important design element that can add visual interest and movement to a
space.

One of the most prevalent trends we observed at spring
market was the virtual explosion of pattern! Literally, pattern was everywhere
you looked! It was amazing to see pattern on everything from furniture to fabrics
to lighting.

By Design Interiors was once again fortunate to attend the semi annual High Point Market in North Carolina. High Point Market is the largest industry trade show in the world bringing together more than 75,000 people to shop the greatest selection of furniture, lighting and accessories, to get inspired by fabulous designers and to see the latest trends up close and personal! One of our favorite stops was at the exquisite Fine Art Lamps showroom.

In the past few years, tile has undergone an exciting evolution
due to new manufacturing techniques combined with a push for creative and
exciting tile designs! New tile is being produced today that was unthinkable
even a couple of decades ago.

Our designers often take pieces of furniture and
transform them from something dated and worn to current and fabulous with a
great new fabric and a little help from our professional upholstery
workrooms! Being able to see beyond the
surface imperfections and determine if a piece is salvageable is first and
foremost. If the frame is interesting
and in good shape and if there is a functional spot for the piece to go, then why
not consider reupholstering?

What takes a pillow, a window treatment or a piece of
furniture from good to extraordinary? Sometimes, it is the little things! Trim
can have a remarkable impact on the overall design of a space. You can walk into a room and sense that a lot
of thought and experienced skill went into creating the space because of the attention to detail.

Color Preferences - Finding Your Happy Color In our last two blogs, we discussed how color trends and
color psychology affect our color choices.
For the third and final segment of our color series, we thought it would
be fun to explore how color affects our designers at the studio!

We often choose paint colors based on personal aesthetics
but it is interesting to see how color can affect our emotions and behaviors. Different
colors create different moods in a home and it is important to know how color affects
us before we break out the paint cans and brushes!

Animal Prints – From Tame to Wild and BeyondAnimal prints continue to be popular in interior design for
many great reasons. They can bring an exotic yet inviting feel to a space! Animal prints can be subtle and chic or bold
and playful. They can stand out and get
noticed or lay back and quietly add interest to a room.

Designer Details – Taking Furniture to the Next Level What is it that makes a piece of furniture stand out? I mean really get noticed and in a good
way?! It is the attention to every last
detail, innovative designs and hand crafted quality that takes it to the next
level!

Sweet Dreams – In Your Custom Bedding
When you think about it, we spend one third of our lives
sleeping. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to
come home to an extraordinary bedroom that is your sanctuary, your retreat to
escape from life's stressors?

Valentine’s Day Gifts – Think Outside of the Chocolate Box! Do you struggle with what to get your sweetheart for
Valentine’s Day? Instead of falling back
on the old standbys of flowers and chocolates, how about putting a unique and
romantic spin on the holiday with a gift that may be a bit out of the box but
that can be treasured forever?

Choosing a rug for your space can surprisingly be one of the hardest things you do. There are SO many options! You have to select the size, shape, pattern, color, and texture. It can be a lot to think about!

The life of a designer is never boring. Our job description is to make a space as beautiful and functional as possible, but that can entail quite a lot. Recently, one designer and her assistant found themselves installing a house full of art!

Gray has become the next big, fabulous neutral, and let me tell you it is here to stay! While gray has been popular for modern and contemporary spaces for years, using the overlooked neutral is gaining more and more popularity in traditional and transitional homes.

We all have those areas in our home that are unused. Whether it is an underutilized closet or that awkward space under your stair case, we have some unique ideas to help you make the most out of your waste of space.